Monday, November 29, 2010

Okay so I said last week I would post an update on my quilt along progress but I didn't. Sorry. I got behind on my quilt (and blogging) but I'm all caught up now (at least on my quilt!). But before I show you how my quilt looks I thought I'd show you what I have been up to.

I'm in charge of the hallway decorations at Natalie's school. Each season I come up with a new theme using four different things to represent each of the classrooms and the children in them.

Here's what the four different things are this season:

This log cabin will have hot chocolate mugs all around it with the kids' names on it. I love how it turned out. I used transparency film for the windows. I've been doing this for 2 years and this might be my favorite so far.

This sled will have different colored mittens around it. How cool is that mirrored poster board. I ♥ Hobby Lobby!

This tree will have cardinals on and around it. Am I the only one that when they think of cardinals they think of snow and winter?

And finally this snowman will have snowflakes around it.

Everything will be glitter-ized and there will be a cute saying like, "We are having 'snow' much fun this winter and all year long at RSA!"

There have been a lot of late nights eating way too many of these...

While everyone else was doing this...

I have also been busy with my Haul Out the Holly craft and tutorial but I can't show you that...not yet anyway. Btw Haul out the Holly started today and the craft is by Gwen herself and it is way cool! Check back there each day for the next 11 days for awesome Christmas craft tutorials,
including mine ;-)!

Okay time to show you my quilt along progress. I'm pretty pleased with myself. I LOVE this quilt. Not only do I love the design and fabric but making it has been more fun then I thought it would be.

Here are the blocks before I made them wonky...

Here they are with some square, some tilting up, and some tilting down...

Here are my rows...

And here are some pics of my completed quilt top...

Here's a close up...

LOVE IT! LOVE IT! LOVE IT!!!!! Next is basting. I have to go pick up my supplies tomorrow. I was thinking of an aqua color for the backing. Should I go solid or patterned? Any suggestions? Thanks!

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving! Thanks to all of you for following my lil' blog and being so encouraging and supportive. Blogging has become a bigger part of my life then I ever expected and I am excited to see what the future holds. Wishing you and yours a wonderful day with family and friends full of yummy food and lots of fun! God Bless.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

*EDIT* Cassie @ Primitive and Proper is way more street then me and schooled me in the lingo...so instead of "Oh no I didn't"...in your head you should be saying "Oh no she di-int!" Which is way better and makes me sound a tad cooler then I was before ;-). Peace. Andi out.

Oh yeah. I did. I couldn't help it. I loved this one so much and so did you (#1 post!) that when I saw these rub ons at Hobby Lobby before I knew it they were in my cart ;-) I was a little off on my placement and put the rub ons too close to the edges, but I still love it. It goes great with my dollar decor I made this past weekend.

This time I thought I'd show you really quickly how I did it. Easy Peasy!

First cut some scrapbook paper the size you want. I cut mine 5 by 7. Pick a paper that isn't very detailed so that the rub ons stand out. This one has some faint snowflakes.

Then cut out each rub on individually.

Then arrange them until you like the layout.

I obviously didn't choose the above as my final layout just forgot to take a picture. ugh.

Next you want to take the vellum backing off and start rubbing. {Okay so the juvenile inside me is laughing and in a Beavis voice saying "She said 'start rubbing'...heh heh" }

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Other then my pilgrims and some pumpkins and mums outside....I haven't done much Fall decorating. Like I said in this post I have umpteen million projects going on. And even though I wanted to do more decorating I had to prioritize and other things were at the top of the list. I have been busy working on my quilt (progress post this week!) and my tutorial for Haul Out the Holly. I have also been planning Natalie's 5th birthday party, working on hallway decorations for Natalie's preschool, and decided that I should make this as well! Ambitious or stupid? I'm still on the fence. :-) And I don't even want to think about all the homemade Christmas gifts waiting in the wings!

I have had a very productive last two days. I made some huge progress on my quilt...which is turning out great so far I am happy to report! I also got some domestic type stuff taken care of, you know...laundry, bathrooms, dishes, etc. And I also finally answered some emails, responded to some comments, and caught up on some blog reading. And now I feel not only less overwhelmed but even more motivated to finish those projects AND I was even inspired to make a couple quick Christmas decorations!

Remember this post about my rub on Halloween subway art? Well I mentioned there that I found the rub ons at the Target dollar spot. At our Target right now they have put out all the Christmas dollar goodies and of course I had to see what they had!

Well no rub ons but they had some cute paper...

and theses foam candy canes...

I didn't know what I was going to do with them but I knew I had to have them!

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Like I have said before I am a procrastinator. And unfortunately this doesn't stop at my crafts. Our Christmas photo cards usually fall victim as well. Which leaves me rushing to 1 hour photo at my local retail store a week before Christmas. I know right? I'm even a little appalled with myself. The cards turn out okay but every year I tell myself that I am going to use Shutterfly for our Christmas cards and I will not procrastinate. So far no dice until I read about this promotion*. I thought it was a great way to get my rear in gear and also share with you why I love Shutterfly and why you should too!

After browsing through their huge selection, here are some of the designs that I'm lovin':

I love the color combos on this one. Not a traditional look but still festive.

I really like the arrangement of this one and how it incorporates the monogram.

And I love how this one has the text and graphics on top of the picture.

And this one is just beautiful!

UGH! I'm not sure how I am going to choose! I'm hoping once I have our Christmas picture then I will be able to see what card it will look best on.

And did you know that they can address, stamp, and even mail your cards for you?! (for an additional fee) It's a procrastinator's dream come true!

*You should know that I am being compensated by Shutterfly with 50 free holiday cards for writing this post. I love free stuff like the next person but am not one to promote something if I don't believe in it. I have been a a big fan of Shutterfly since my oldest was born. To celebrate her first year I made an 8"by 8" digital scrapbook from birth to her first Birthday. I've also done a few photo collages, one was for my husbands 30th birthday. I have always been extremely happy with the whole Shutterfly experience from the uploading, designing, and ultimately the end product and I know you will be too.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Why else would I have about a gazillion projects scattered throughout my house that are about 90% done?

They are driving me crazy!

I have a patience problem.
I have a procrastination problem.
Sounds like an oxymoron...or just a moron (haha) but I'm impatient about starting said project and then I "just have to" go get the supplies ASAP only to have them sit (sometimes still in the bag). Or I actually start said project only to stop for some lame reason or another. Sleep, food, adult responsibilities, blah, blah, blah.

But seriously I'm overwhelmed and it's my fault. I know that I should be working on Thanksgiving decorations like my pilgrims cuz I'm sure that's what everyone wants to see (since it's ONLY 10 days away!!!!) but I will feel better if I can finish some of these projects that literally have one or two steps left. Ridiculous I know (the run on sentence was a little crazy too). I can hear you guys now, " One or two steps? Why didn't she just finish?" Well I could sit here and make a good case for myself talking about being a perfectionist and how it's a blessing and a curse etc. etc. but instead I will just show you a project that had one step left and sat for weeks.

Here it is finally hung up in my entryway:

I made the picture months ago and then I framed it only to have the glass break before I could take pictures. Then I got a new frame. And that sat for a couple of weeks. And then I finally put the picture in the frame only to sit another week or so before I hung it up. And these are the days of my life...

I saw the idea over at Under the table and Dreaming. The typography photos are from Leo Reynolds' photostream. He has posted thousands of pictures of letters, numbers, symbols, etc. And that's not even the best part, he has been generous enough to allow us (that's you and me :-)) to use them with little restrictions!!

I spent HOURS (okay like 1 hour) on Flickr looking through his photos. Finding the letters and numbers I liked was pretty easy. I didn't want a monochrome look so I made sure I picked some pictures that had a pop of color. I wanted EST. to be on one line so I found a shamrock and a heart to fill the spaces after our last name. My husband's ancestors were Irish so I thought a shamrock would be appropriate as he is very proud of his heritage. And a heart well because we lurve eachother...awww!

Once I downloaded all the pictures I liked (FYI you need a Flickr account to download photos), I made a collage on Picnik and then printed it on photo paper.

My frame is 20' by 20' and the mat opening is 11' by 11' (I think) so my picture was quite a bit smaller then the opening. I fixed this by backing my picture with some pretty scrapbook paper.

The most expensive part of this project was the frame!

Head on over to Flickr and check out Leo Reynolds' photos and make one for yourself or for an anniversary gift.
You could use the same idea but make it into invitations for an anniversary party or even a vow renewal. This would also be a cool way to make a welcome sign or some artwork with just numbers or symbols.

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Thanks so much for stopping by my happy place in cyberspace.

I am a lover of all things crafty. Hobby Lobby is my mecca. There is nothing more satisfying then creating something with my own hands. This is a place for me to share my passion with you. Thanks for stopping by!

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All I ask is to give credit where credit is due. So feel free to try some of my projects (or all of them!) but please link back to me and please ask permission before using any content or pictures. And please use my projects for personal use or gifts only. Thanks and happy crafting!